New York's mayor wants to spend $10 billion to save Wall Street from disastrous flooding, but some people are skeptical

The Manhattan skyline as seen from Queens.
Visions of America/UIG/Getty Images

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City just revealed a $10 billion plan to extend part of Manhattan's coastline by up to two city blocks.

The mayor said the project would protect the city's financial district — home to about 500,000 jobs — from flooding caused by sea-level rise.

Some politicians worry that the project will draw from private funds, while others say the plan neglects vulnerable boroughs like Queens.

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City recently unveiled a $10 billion plan to extend part of Manhattan's coastline by up to two city blocks. The proposed extension would run on the southeastern side of the island from the Brooklyn Bridge to Battery Park, creating a barrier for the city's financial district, which is home to about 500,000 jobs and 90,000 residents.

By elevating parts of a newly constructed landfill about 20 feet above sea level, de Blasio hopes to protect vital pieces of infrastructure, including utilities and subway lines.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that New York City will see as much as 11.6 feet of sea-level rise by 2100. Under this extreme scenario, areas like Wall Street and the East Village could find themselves inundated with water. Under the agency's more conservative projections, the city can expect about 6 feet of sea-level rise — a scenario that would still put the edges of Lower Manhattan in danger.

A new report from New York City found that more than 6 feet of sea-level rise would put nearly half of the city's properties at risk of flooding.

NYC Mayor’s Office

"We don't debate global warming in New York City," de Blasio wrote. "The only question is where to build the barriers to protect us from rising seas and the inevitable next storm, and how fast we can build them."

Many politicians and climate scientists have raised the same questions, but they're skeptical that de Blasio's $10 billion plan is the answer.

Perhaps the biggest concern among politicians is how the city would fund the project. At a press conference, de Blasio said the proposal should be backed by federal funds, but he also acknowledged that the Trump administration was unlikely to jump on board.

That leaves the mayor with few options: Wait until a Democrat is elected president, or hope for a Democratic majority in the Senate in 2020. (De Blasio, a Democrat, has indicated his own desire to run for president.)

If the federal government is unwilling to participate, de Blasio said, the city may explore private funding. A privately funded project would bear a much closer resemblance to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2013 plan to extend a 1-1/2-mile stretch along lower Manhattan. At the time, Bloomberg hoped the project would be financed by the construction of residential towers on flood-protected land.

Given the political blowback to a proposed Amazon headquarters in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, across the East River from Manhattan, a privately funded development along the East River is likely to incite criticism among community members.

In a statement to Business Insider, the New York City Council member Margaret Chin said a private real-estate development "would destroy the waterfront neighborhoods that we are trying to protect" in lower Manhattan.

A project to replenish Rockaway Beach after parts of the land were lost during Hurricane Sandy. Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Others have pointed out that de Blasio's plan excludes boroughs beyond Manhattan.

The day after de Blasio's op-ed article came out, the climate scientist Peter Gleick called the plan "a partial, temporary adaptation" to sea-level rise.

Another City Council member, Francisco Moya, who represents a district in Queens, also criticized the proposal for neglecting Long Island City and Brooklyn neighborhoods including Red Hook, Coney Island, and Brighton Beach.

The city is already building a flood-resistant boardwalk in the Rockaways in Queens and has plans to build a $615 million seawall along Staten Island's eastern shore. But these projects pale in comparison with a $10 billion extension of lower Manhattan.

In addition to protecting Wall Street businesses, an elevated landfill would shelter the Federal Reserve, which de Blasio described as "the global center of commerce" and "the home to a sector of our economy that touches every town and region in America."